Running

Since I never got around to it during the spring or summer, here are some race recaps!

Race for Roofs 5K – April

The Race for Roofs 5k was our first 5k of the year. It was a nice community event and took place in the Englewood neighborhood on the near east side. The youth running group in that neighborhood is fast bunch! It is nice to see how supportive they are of their teammates and how happy they are to be running. Look at the cute boxes we received for running the race.

Each box included a delicious homemade peanut butter granola bar. I have made them at least half a dozen times since the race! The race was on the smaller side, but Drew and I both finished first! (Drew 17:46, Taylor 22:46) I think the course was a touch short. I have never been first female before, so it was quite exciting!!

If you look close at the award, you will note the age group is Female 40-54. They originally had me as a male on the results, so they had already given away the first place award. They had an unclaimed age group award that I accepted instead. I think I look pretty good for age 40 🙂 After the race, Drew took me to brunch at Bent Rail Brewery to celebrate my first place win 😀 The monte cristo was the best I have ever had and the side salad with goji berries was delicious as well.

Glass City – April

Last year, Glass City was my first ever half marathon. This year, I only ran the 5k (Drew did the half), so I would have more time to train for the Indy Mini half. Glass City is always a fun race. Drew’s brother always runs and usually his mom does too. Drew: 1:23:21 Taylor: 24.11

We always go out to lunch after the race. This year we went to Big Boy’s, because we received coupons at the race.

Indy Mini – May

The Indy Mini was my spring half for 2016. I didn’t run as fast as I had hoped, but the race was a ton of fun. I think there was literally a water stop and band playing every mile. The coolest part was running around the race track and being able to watch fast people (like Evan) finish on the big screen. After the race, the boys got a crazy idea to climb 300+ steps to the top of the monument. The view was awesome, but I had a rough time going up and down all those steps. I guess I better work some stair stepping into my workout for next year, haha. After the race, we celebrated with breakfast at Biscuits and delicious strawberry birthday pie courtesy of Evan. Drew: 1:24:26, Taylor 1:54:57, Evan: 1:08:13

Run 317 Series

The Run 317 is a series of 5 Thursday night races held in different neighborhoods. There is still one race remaining in October. Originally, I thought it would be fun to race during the middle of the week and explore different areas of town all while forcing myself into much needed speed workouts. Turns out that I didn’t enjoy it that much. All the races are 3.17 miles long, and it is really hot in evening. Having the course be longer than a 5K was tough mentally (especially when it ran long), and I am much more of a morning racer. One of the races was un-timed because it was so hot. We opted not to attend that race and just run on the trail instead. The races we have attended so far are The Circle (Drew 18:29, Taylor 24:24), Broad Ripple (Drew 18:52, Taylor 25:28), and the Carmel Arts District (Drew 18:29, Taylor 24:32).

The Circle

Broad Ripple

Run the Runway – August

We ran this race with a friend in IL. It was raining all morning, but cleared up in time for the race. Some other people were supposed to run with us, but they didn’t come to the race. Instead, they met us afterwards for brunch. The race took place at the Rockford Airport on the runways. They had planes parked along the race course which was neat. Drew (17:46) and I (24:43) ran the 5k. Dane ran his first race doing the 1 mile and got first place in his age group. Way to go Dane!

After the race, we went to Egg Harbor Cafe for brunch and then headed to the Murray’s house to meet their new puppy, Piper. Newton had a great time playing with her. Piper was not so thrilled when she first met Newton. She would just collapse to the ground when he started to sniff her. After a while, she warmed up to him and ran around the yard chasing and nipping at his tail. His tail is quite popular with small dogs and puppies.

Overall, we didn’t run nearly as many races this year 😦 Drew ran one more when I was working a weekend and placed 2nd! I really miss having a competitive racing series like the Ohio Challenge Series or Hermes Racing Series near by. I enjoy being able to choose whatever races I want and not having to worry about how many points I will earn from running them, but I also enjoy being forced into running races more often. Now that I don’t have to work weekends anymore our race participation should be on the rise (hopefully a minimum of 1 per month with 4 planned for October!)

This year we didn’t end up running a St Patrick’s day race. Instead, we opted for the Sam Costa Quarter Marathon. It was only the 11th year for the quarter marathon, but the 47th year for the half marathon distance. According to the race website, Sam Costa was a detective in Chicago that used to travel to central Indiana to run with friends each year. The race was renamed in his honor in the 70s and there is a cartoon-y looking detective on the shirts each year.

The race was held in Carmel, starting and ending at Northview Church. The church had ample parking and a large lobby for packet pickup. The race was well organized with plenty of restrooms and water stops. The course was had some rolling hills, but overall it was a nice run. I packed us some Noomas for hydration after the race. It was my first time having the chocolate mint flavor. It tasted just like a dessert 🙂

Drew ran it in 40:29 (6:11 pace), and I ran it in 53:14 (8:08 pace). He took 1st in his age group, and I took 2nd in mine.

After the race we went spice shopping at Penzey’s and went out to brunch. We decided to try 3 Sisters Cafe. It was a great choice! I think it might be my new favorite brunch spot in town. Drew had a biscuit with egg, chicken sausage, and gouda. I had the lemon corncakes with blueberry sauce, lemon curd, and whipped cream. Everyone around us was ordering dessert, so we decided to try it too. We went with the chocolate bacon pie. It was good, but not something I would get again. It was a chocolate cheesecake like pie with bacon crumbles on top. The main dishes we got were delicious, and I know we will go back again.

We also started working on new shutters. When the lady at the paint store opened the can of paint to show me the color, she nicely told me she thought I was crazy when I originally handed her the paint chip for exterior paint. Once she opened the can, she said she changed her mind and thought it was a pretty spring color, ha-ha. Here is a preview:

In February, we attended 3 races. The most exciting race was first, and we didn’t even run in it. Drew’s brother, Evan, qualified to run in the Olympic Marathon Time Trials!! We flew out to LA for a weekend to watch him race. Here is Evan at the beginning of the race. He is the one in the green singlet on the far right.

It was such a hot day, and he did so awesome! There were about 160 men that started the race and only 108 finished.

The first race that we ran in was the Polar Bear. You could run a 5k, 5 mile, or the Bear which was both. This year we both chose the 5 mile, but next year I might shoot for the Bear. We both had pretty good races. Finishing at 30:13 for Drew and 41:06 for me.

After the race, we hurried back so we could make it to the market. We walked up the trail to get breakfast. I made Drew take a picture by the mural like a tourist 😉

The next weekend we ran the Winter Warm-Up which was either a 4 mile or and 8 mile course on the Cultural Trail. I opted for the 4 miler while Drew ran the 8 miler. The race was mostly along the trail and it was neat to be able to run on it completely uninterrupted by traffic. Drew ran 51:42 and placed 3rd overall. I ran 31:46 and placed 2nd. Unfortunately, they only gave prizes to the top one male and female 😦 The race started at the City Market, so we stayed for lunch. It was cute, but much smaller than our favorite indoor market. We decided on smoothies, tamales, and crepes. The food was all delicious, but not as good as our old crepe place or a Rockford garage sale tamale.

This morning was the 4th of July 5 miler in North Canton. The weather was nice and cool – perfect for a race! The announcer said that there were over 3,000 combined participants between the 2 mile and 5 mile events. While we were warming up, we saw the start of the 2 mile. I couldn’t believe how many people there were! It seemed liked a never ending stream. At the starting line, runners were lined up according to bib color. The color designated your expected pace. It was nice to start with people that were aiming to run the same pace as me.

After the race, there was dancing in the street and a parade. We decided to stick around for the parade, because Drew had never seen a 4th of July parade. This seemed crazy to me since I lived on a parade route in my hometown.

Either the parade today was short, or they were just more exciting when I was younger. We were hoping for a marching band, but instead there was a baton and drum corps. The youngest twirlers were adorable. The parade only lasted 30 minutes, but at least Drew gained some parade watching experience.

Friday night, Drew and I ran the Jackson Night Glow 5k. It was a pretty big event with over 2,000 participants. The race started at the high school and finished at a festival with rides and food trucks. Packet pickup was at the school. This is always nice, because then there are bathrooms close by 🙂 We received bright yellow tech shirts and glow sticks. We didn’t wear the glow sticks until after the race, but many other people wore them while running. The high school reminded me of ONU. Their mascot was a polar bear, and there was a green running path that went by the school.

The course was pretty fast. The race started at the top of a hill with a firework display in the distance. I didn’t really see the fireworks, but I heard them. I was too busy trying not to run into anyone in front of me. Most of the course was lit up, but I still managed to step in a pot hole. I guess that is the downside of running in the dark. There were water stations, people cheering, and music playing all along the course. The race definitely had a lot of community support. The light displays kept the course interesting. There were strings of lights hanging, candles on the ground, and even a tunnel of lights. Running through the tunnel seemed to give everyone more energy. I felt like we were running over one of the speed ramps in Mario Kart. Since it was a Subway Challenge race, there were sub sandwiches and chips to munch on after the race as well as chocolate milk, bananas, and bomb pops. The popsicles were particularly refreshing. Drew ran his fastest 5k ever, and I tied my fastest. All in all, it was a good race.

After a week of hot, humid weather, it cooled down to the low 60s this morning – perfect for a hilly 5 mile jog, followed by a post workout strawberry peanut butter smoothie and a walk with Newt. As of today, I have about 40 miles on my new Saucony Guides. My feet haven’t gone numb since I switched, I PR’d at my last race in them, and they are cuter (and cheaper!) than the previous pair. A win-win-win.